Guj Cong rebels to stay away from campaigning

Troubles mounted for Congress in Gujarat today with senior leaders who have rebelled after being denied tickets declaring they would not campaign for the party in the assembly polls, as former deputy chief minister Narhari Amin became the rallying point.

Amin, former city mayor Himmatsinh Patel, ex-MLA Naresh Raval and a host of other Congress leaders came together by organising an anti-party gathering where they said the outcome of the upcoming elections is a foregone conclusion with no possibility of the party coming to power.

Lambasting state Congress leaders and the high command for denying tickets to 'worthy' candidates at a huge gathering of Congress workers, Amin said, "Senior leaders who have been denied tickets will not campaign for the party in the assembly polls. "I request you all to stay away from party work. Worthy candidates have been overlooked and those whom people don't even know, have been fielded," he said.

Stating that the results of the assembly elections are a foregone conclusion with no possibility of Congress coming to power, Amin said a decision regarding the future course of action will be taken in the next few days.

Amin, an influential Patel community leader and former president of Gujarat Cricket Association, was denied ticket on the grounds that he had lost two elections in a row. Himmatsinh Patel also could not secure ticket for his son and thus was aggrieved.

As many as 34 people, including 14 girls, were arrested at a rave party going on in a hotel in Jakhan locality in Dehradun.

The arrests were made late last night after a tip off, Circle Officer (City) Mamata Vohra said. Alcohol bottles and drugs were recovered from the spot, she said, adding that their blood samples have been sent for examination. Most of those held are students of various educational institutions in the city, while some belong to Delhi.

A case has been registered under the Excise Act and they have currently been released on bail, Vohra said.

Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh today said the time has come for people of Madhya Pradesh to throw the BJP out of power, since it came to power by making false promises, which are yet to be fulfilled.

"The ruling BJP had promised to provide 24 hours power within 100 days of coming to power, but till date not a single district gets round-the-clock power," he said.

He was addressing the Vishal Kisan Mahaandolan, a farmers' rally organised by the Congress in protest against the death of a woman farmer opposing land acquisition for the Welspun greenfield thermal power plant, in Katni.

The BJP also promised to improve the condition of roads and waive off farmers loan, but failed to fulfill its promises, he said.

Referring to the issue of land acquisition for a power plant in Bujbuja and Dokaria villages, he said, if farmers opposed it, some other piece of land must be acquired as Vijayraghogarh MLA Sanjay Pathak has suggested.

Tax-exempted income of the 10 main political parties in the last five years touched a whopping Rs 2,490 crore with Congress and BJP accounting for around 80 per cent of the exempted amount, according to official data.

And the income could be more than Rs 2,490 crore since the political parties' income figures between 2007-08 and 2011-12 received from the Income Tax department through an RTI plea does not incorporate the large number of small donations or income below Rs 20,000.

The Congress had a tax-exempted income to the tune of Rs 1385.36 crore, more than double of the BJP, which recorded an amount of Rs 682 crore. BJP ally JDU's tax free income in this period except for the year 2008-09 has been Rs 15.51 crore.

Mayawati's BSP recorded an income of Rs 147.18 crore in three financial years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2011-12. The party filed incomplete return in 2009-10 and had no tax-exempted income in 2010-11.

Sharad Pawar's NCP had a tax-exempted income of Rs 141.34 crore in the five-year period. According to the information provided by the IT department, CPI-M recorded an income of Rs 85.61 crore in four years in this period while it had nil income in 2008-09.

CPI's income in 2008-09 and 2009-10 is pegged at Rs 28.47 crore. JD(S) had an earning of Rs 7.16 crore in 2009-10 and 2010-11 while Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP had a tax-exempted earning of Rs 2.55 crore in four years from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2011. Lalu Prasad's RJD earned Rs 2.85 crore in three years from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2011.

The information came through a petition filed by Hisar-based RTI activist Ramesh Verma before the IT department.

Ridiculing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for allegedly seeking publicity after his recent Pakistan visit, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad today claimed that he was more popular in that country than Kumar.

"The people and politicians in Pakistan still talk about me and my administrative capabilities," he told a public meeting during his 'Parivartan Yatra' in Bihar's Saharsa district.

"My contributions as the railway minister is being effusively talked about in political circles in Pakistan even now," he said, referring to Muttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) MP lawmaker Sajid Ahmed's statement last month that Pakistani railways be handed over to the former Indian railway minister for the revival of its fortunes.

Accusing the Opposition parties of acting in an "autocratic" manner by forcing states not to implement FDI in retail, Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today said stalling Parliament on the matter for four days showed their "bankruptcy" of issues.

"This is the Opposition's autocratic behaviour that they are preventing states which want to implement FDI from doing so," Jaiswal said in Kanpur.

The Opposition wasted Parliament's last session by creating a "drama" over the alleged coal block allocation scam, even though there was no substance in the matter, he said, adding this is being repeated in the current session by opposing FDI in retail.

"Where is the problem when the Centre has given the freedom to the states on implementation of FDI? Those who want can do so and those who don't may not," he said.

A 21-year-old wrestler, son of an IPS officer, was allegedly shot at and injured in Haryana's Sonepat district, police said today. A probe has been launched into the November 28 incident after reports came in that some police officials, who were looking for a criminal, shot at Gurpal Singh in a case of mistaken identity.

Gurpal, who is son of IPS officer Swaran Singh posted in Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's security wing, was shot at on the Rai-Sonepat road, about 220 km from Chandigarh.

He was travelling from Rai, where he has come to attend a sports camp, with his friend to a market, the victim's cousin Randheer told PTI on phone today.

"We have registered a case under Section 307 IPC (attempt to murder). The investigations are being handled by Sonepat'sDSP (headquarters)," Rohtak Range Inspector General of Police, Alok Mittal told PTI on phone today.

A major road tunnel has collapsed in Japan, trapping a number of vehicles and leaving at least seven people missing, media reports say. Survivors described how large sections of concrete fell on top of cars in the Sasago tunnel.

A fire broke out and rescuers said a number of charred bodies had been seen.

Image: A surveillance monitor showing a car and rescue team in the Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan Photograph: Reuters

15:04The Mughals took their art seriously!: Perhaps no dynasty in the history of humankind paid such lavish attention to art. William Dalrymple, whose new book on the Anglo-Afghan war of the mid-1800s will be launched December 6, reviews a new exhibition of Mughal art in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/nov/30/art-treasures-of-mughal-empire

15:00Rate of cancer has doubled in two decades: Scary statistics in this Times of India report: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/The-rate-of-cancer-has-doubled-in-the-two-decades/articleshow/17450512.cms

A fresh round of curfew was enforced today in parts of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, following fresh sectarian tension yesterday.

"Curfew has been imposed in Zadibal and Nowhatta police station areas and Urdu Bazaar police post area as a precautionary measure," a police spokesman said.

He said the curfew was in place to prevent further clashes and any possible loss of life or property.

Authorities had on Wednesday enforced a curfew in nine police station areas of the city following sectarian clashes in Hawal area, falling under Zadibal police station.

14:50Five Myths about Apple: Without Steve Jobs, Apple can't think out of the box and its days are numbered. Read this fascinating feature in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-apple/2012/11/30/758e83e4-3822-11e2-8a97-363b0f9a0ab3_story.html

The Taliban have launched a major suicide attack against a NATO base at an Afghan city airport, killing three Afghan guards and wounding several foreign troops, officials said.

The Taliban claimed suicide bombers had entered the airport at Jalalabad, near the eastern border with Pakistan early Sunday, detonating explosives at the gate and sparking a gunbattle that lasted at least two hours.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed to Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith in Kabul that "multiple explosions" had occurred outside the Jalalabad airbase, and that "at least three large explosions were heard".

Police seized explosive materials, four grenades, a Kalashnikov, Rs 160,000 in cash and hate literature from them. The arrested men belonged to the Ghulam Rabbani faction of the Pakistani Taliban and planned to target members of the minority Shia sect, officials said.

ANI: Maoists killed two villagers Jharkhand's Gumla district over suspicions of them being police informers. According to police officials, a local leader of People's Liberation Front of India, Sanjay Tiger entered the village and dragged the two villagers out of their homes and shot them.

"After the initial interrogation, we have come to know that a Maoist named Sanjay Tiger of the PLFI group came to the house of one of the villager and dragged him out. He then also brought his relative out of his residence; he hit his wife on the face and then shot the two villagers," he said. "We are further investigating the matter," he added.

CNN IBN: By openly endorsing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's name for the post of the prime minister, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj has revived the debate of who will be the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections.

A day after Sushma said that Modi was fit to be the prime minister, party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in the BJP there were many leaders who were eligible candidates for the post. "BJP is fortunate to have many eligible candidates for the post of prime minister. The party will decided who will be when the time comes," said Naqvi.

A local leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was today shot dead by an unknown gunman in Medininagar, the Palamau district headquarters town, police said.

Ladle Hassan, who was heading the party's Palamau district minority forum, was hit by a single bullet when he was having tea with friends at a stall near Mahavir Temple around 7.30 am, Superintendent of Police Anup T Mathew said.

Hassan was on bail in connection with some charges filed against him a couple of years ago, he said adding the assailant was yet to be identified.

10:58Mumbai police take action on Raj complaint: Following a complaint made by MNS leader Raj Thackeray, the Mumbai police has blocked two fake Facebook accounts in his children Amit and Urvashi's names. The Times of India report is here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Cops-block-two-fake-accounts-after-Raj-Thackerays-complaint/articleshow/17447000.cms It is not known if the Twitter accounts in Amit and Urvashi's names have been blocked as well. The Raj Thackeray family has clarified that none of them have Facebook or Twitter accounts.

10:46Myanmar to verify citizenship of Muslims: An Associated Press exclusive reveals how the Myanmar government is verifying if the Muslims in western Myanmar are the nation's citizens or illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/ap-exclusive-myanmar-launches-operation-to-verify-citizenship-of-muslims-in-strife-torn-west/2012/11/30/a6256ea2-3abe-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html This development is sure to reverberate among India's hardline Hindu and Muslim elements

10:39The quiet grip of Caste: Jean Dreze, who knows the realities of India better than most, discusses the role of caste as an instrument of power in The Hindustan Times: http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/ColumnsOthers/The-quiet-grip-of-caste/Article1-965624.aspx

10:33A matter of toilets: Rama Bijapurkar in the Indian Express has this view:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/coming-out-of-the-water-closet/1037387/ while Madhu Kishwar has a different take; http://www.manushi.in/blog_content.php?blogid=39

09:46Pentagon to build spy organization as big as the CIA: The Washington Post reveals how the Pentagon is building a spy organisation to rival the CIA. A fascinating report, you can read here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/dia-to-send-hundreds-more-spies-overseas/2012/12/01/97463e4e-399b-11e2-b01f-5f55b193f58f_story.html

09:40No Indian in top 10 Test run-getters this year!: Hashim Amla, whose amazing knock at the WACA, has put South Africa in a match-winning position. During the course of his inning, Hashim passed the 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year mark. The Top 10 is led by Australian skipper Michael Clarke and has among others Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Kevin Pieterson, Alistair Cook, Jacques Kallis and Alviro Peterson on it. But no Indian!!!!

09:15Explosions heard at US military base in Afghanistan: Reuters reports: Two explosions and shooting were heard at a US base in the Afghan city of Islamabad on Sunday, a Reuters witness said. The Taliban said they carried out an attack on the compound and inflicted casualties.

09:11The problems of cash transfers: An interesting perspective from Swaminathan A Aiyar: http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/entry/real-and-imaginary-problems-of-electronic-cash-transfers

Sachin Dev Pavithran has been appointed the Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the White House said, as it announced several other key administration appointments.

"These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and talent to their new roles and I am proud to have them serve in this administration. I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,' Obama said in a statement.

00:41No power to act against Sanjiv Bhatt, says EC : The Election Commission has ruled out the possibility of taking action against Sanjiv Bhatt, suspended IPS officer, in the backdrop of such demands after Bhatt allegedly canvassed for his wife Shweta, reports The Hindu.

Shweta has been pitted by the Congress against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming assembly polls.

Police said the 25-year-old first shot his girlfriend dead a few miles away, before driving to a training facility at Arrowhead Stadium. He committed suicide in the car park in front of team officials, reports BBC.

00:33French unions vow fight against Mittal : French trade unions accused President Francois Hollande of betrayal after his government backed away from a threat to nationalise ArcelorMittal's Florange steelworks.

Workers are angry the furnaces will remain idled
rather than reopened and expressed doubt over ArcelorMittal's promise to
offer alternative posts or early retirement packages for the 630
workers affected.

Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni, a software professional from Andhra Pradesh, and his wife Anupama have been remanded in custody and a judgement will be given in Oslo District Court on December 3.

Their seven-year-old son was found wetting his pants in the school bus which was reported to his father, who in turn "threatened" the child that he would be sent back to India if he repeated that again.